Ball-catcher s glove



(No Model.)

'J. P. DRAPER. BALL GATOHERS GLOVE.

Patented Sept. 15, 1891.

WITNESSES- ma Noam! PETERS cm, mow-mm, wisumuron, n. c.

NITE S ATE JASON F. DRAPER, OF ASHLAND, NEIV HAMPSHIRE.

BALL-CATCH ERS G LOVE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 459,441, datedSeptember 15, 1891.

Application filed October 15, 1890. Serial No. 368,189. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JASON F. DRAPER, of Ashland, in the county ofGrafton and State of NewHampshire, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Base-Ball Catchers Gloves or Mittens, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide a base-ball catchers gloveor mitten in which the thumb shall be more flexible, so as to givegreater freedom of movement to the human thumb within it thanheretofore, and, secondly, to provide improved means for guardin g theends of the wearers fingers and thumb from injury in case the ballstrikes the edge portion of the glove or mitten.

To these ends the invention consists in the several improvements which Iwill now proceed to describe and claim.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figure 1 represents a View of the front or palm side of a catchersmitten embodying my improvement. Fig. 2 represents a back view of thesame. Fig. 3 represents a view of the pad-holder and palm and thumb padsattached thereto. Fig. 41 represents an edge view of the guards thatprotect the ends of the thumb and fingers, and Fig. 5 represents anenlarged section on line 5 5 of Fig. 1.

The same numerals of reference indicate the same parts in all thefigures.

In the drawings, 2 represents afront piece, which covers the palm of thehand and the front side of the fingers, and may be extended tocover thewhole of the front side of the thumb, although I have here shown thecovering of the thumb made in two parts, one of which is an extension ofthe front piece 2, while the other is a segmental piece 3, as shown inFig. 1, the piece 3 being suitably attached to the extension of thepiece 2.

At the back of the mitten are the pockets 4 for the reception of thethumb and fingers of the wearer, said pockets being arranged in the sameorder that the fingers and thumb of a glove are arranged, and arecomposed of buckskin or other suitably strong and durable material. Saidpockets are stitched to a suitable back piece 6, which is ofsubstantially the same form as the front piece 2, except that it issomewhat fuller, so that it can bendinwardly from the edge of themitten, as I shown in Fig. 5, and constitute the inner side of the thumband finger pockets.

7 represents a pad-holding piece, which is of the same shape as thefront piece 2 and rial, and has attached to one side two pads 8 and 9,which do not extend to the margin of the piece 7, a sufficient widthofthe said piece projecting outside the pads to permit the attachmentofthe piece to other parts of the glove. The pad 8 is formed to cover thepalm and finger portions of the mitten, while the pad 9 covers the thumbportion. Said pads are separated by an intervening space 10, so that theflexibility of the thumb is not impaired by the padding material, as itwould be if the pad extended continuously from the palm to and along thethumb. The flexibility of the thumb is further increased by a gore 12,Fig. 2, which, with the thumb and finger pockets 4 and strap 13,constitute the back of the hand-receiving portion of the mitten. Saidgore is made of lighter, thinner, and more flexible material than thepockets 4 and is interposed between the thumb-pocket and the pocket thatreceives the forefinger, as shown in Fig. 2, one edge of the gore beingstitched to the base of the thumb-pocket, another to the base of theforefinger-pocket, and another to the inner end of the back strap 13,which strap is pro vided at its free end with eyes 14, adapted to engagea stud 15, said eyes and stud constituting a well-known form ofglove-fastening. It will be seen that the opening 10 between the pads S9 at the frontside of the thumb and the flexible gore 12 at the backside of the thumb enable the thumb to be freely moved both forward andbackward.

To protect the ends of the thumb and fingers of the wearer against theball in case the latter strikes the edge of the mitten, I provide twoguards 1 17, the former adapted to cover the ends of the fingers and thelatter the end of the thumb. Said guards are curved strips of anysuitable non-metallic material and are preferably made of alternatelayers of cotton or other fabric and vulcanized rubher, the form of eachguard in cross-section being preferably that shown in Fig. 5. The saidguards are covered by an edge strip 18 of stout leather, which serves asa hinder or connection between the front and back portions of the mittenand is secured to the guards by means of rivets 20. The guards thusconstructed are sufficiently flexible to prevent liability of theirbeing broken by blows upon them, and at the same time they affordsufficient protection to the wearers fingers to prevent injury theretoin case the ball strikes the edge of the mitten. The flexibility of theguards also enables them to be bent without being permanently distorted,the guards resuming their normal position when free to do so.

My reason for specifying the non-metallic material is as follows, viz:Guards made of metal and inserted in the mitten in the position hereshown if made of tempered steel would be liable to be broken by shocksof the ball against them and would also be liable to berusted when themitten is wet. If metal guards were used of some less elastic metal,such as brass or copper, they would be liable to be permanently bent anddistorted by the rough usage to which they would be subjected. Myimproved guard, being made of a flexible and elastic non-metallicmaterial, is not liable to any of these objections above raised againstmetallic guards. I do not limit myself, however, to the use of theparticular material or materials above men tionedviz., alternate layersof fabric and rubberbut may make the guards wholly of vulcanized rubberor of sole-leather or any other material which is suitably flexiblewithout bein compressible to any material extent, so that it willaffordsufficient resistance to properly protect the thumb and fingers.

I am aware that a glove or mitten of this class has been provided with afinger-guard composed of a stuffed roll made wholly of compressiblematerial, said roll being necessarily very bulky in order to afford thedesired protection. I am also aware that it has been proposed to usemetallic guard-strips to protect the ends of the fingers in a base-ballglove or mitten. My improved guard is distinguished from the stuffedroll by the fact that it is practically incompressible as compared withsaid roll, so that it may be made much more compact or less bulky, andyet afford better protection. It is distinguished from the metallicguard-strip by the fact that it is non-metallic and incapable of beingbroken by the hard usage to which it is liable to be subjected, besidesbeing free from liability to corrode and rust.

It is obvious that the described improvements relating to pads and tothe gore be tween the thumb and fingers may be used in a catchers glovein which the finger-receiving pockets are independent and separate fromeach other, like the fingers of an ordinary glove, in which case thepalm-pad 8 would be provided with branches or divisions formed to extendout upon the front side of the fingers.

I claim- 1. In a ball-catchers glove or mitten, the combination, withthe external portions or coverings, of the internal pads 8 and 9,formed, respectively, to cover the front of the hand and thumb, saidpads being separated by an intermediate space,whereby interference withthe movements of the thumb by thepadding material is prevented, as setforth.

2. In a ball-catchers mitten or glove, the combination, with theexternal front and back parts, of the pad-holding piece 7, provided withthe palm-pad 8 and with the thumb-pad 9, said pads being separated by aspace or opening 10, the margin of the piece '7 projecting outside ofthe pads, whereby the said piece is adapted to be secured to other partsof the glove, as set forth.

3. In a ball-catchers glove or mitten, the combination,with the thumband finger rec'eiving portions, of the flexible gore 12, made in aseparate piece of thinner material than the said covering portions andunited at one edge to the base of the thumb-covering portion and atanother edge to the base of one of the finger-covering portions, as setforth.

4:. In a ball-catchers glove or mitten, the combination, with the frontand back covering portions, of the pads 8 and 9, separated by an openspace at the front of the thumb, and the flexible gore 12,interposedbetween the parts that cover the back of the thumb and the back of theforefinger, whereby the freedom of the thumb to move both forward andbackward is increased, as set forth.

5. The combination, with the front and back pieces and the marginalbinding-piece 18, of a flexible guard 16, secured to said bindingpieceand arranged at the inner side of the latter between the front and backpieces, said guard being composed of flexible yet firm and comparativelyincompressible non-metallic material, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name tothis specification, in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses, this 11th day of October, A. D.1890.

JASON F. 'DRAPER.

Witnesses: Gno. OAss, H. S. HUCKINS.

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